About 15 percent of people in Germany have a pollen allergy. Nurseries have identified them as a special target group: In the trade, there are plants that are sterile and pollen-free and are advertised as a solution for allergy sufferers who like to stay in the garden. Environmentalists are not enthusiastic about it, and allergy experts are only partially convinced.
Do pollen-free plants cause allergies?
You have to distinguish two plant groups in this topic:
- For one thing, there are plants that release their comparatively light pollen into the air and allow it to be carried away by the wind. These are the so-called Windblütler. They are often recognized by the fact that their flowers are unremarkable.
- On the other hand, there are the so-called insects. They attract insects with beautiful flowers, so that the animals bring the heavy, large pollen to other flowers.
Hazelnut, alder and birch, to which a relatively large number of pollen allergy sufferers, let their pollen fly with the wind. The problem: A garden without birch can not completely protect against allergic reactions to birch pollen, explains Anja Schwalfenberg from the German Allergy and Asthma Association in Mönchengladbach. "Because the pollen of wind-flowering plants such as the birch can be widely spread by the wind."
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Pollen flight in Germany
It is true that even those plants could trigger allergies that use insects as pollen carriers. But that is rare. The setting of sterile plants has therefore only a limited effect for pollen allergy sufferers, says Schwalfenberg.
Are sterile plants bad for nature?
Environmentalists are clearly against sterile plants - especially when it comes to those plants that must control insects for food. The small animals often find too little food in nature and gardens.
However, Marja Rottleb from the German Nature Conservation Union (Nabu) also sees it critically when allergies make their front garden complete with gravel in order to protect themselves. Your plea for the sake of the environment: "In no case one should do without plants."
Other solutions: plants as pollen catchers
Nature conservationist Rottleb can understand the idea of many hobby gardeners, if they buy pollen-free plants. But there is also a lot of ignorance. Because forgoing plants with allergy potential does not mean that you have to rely on sterile variants.
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Both experts advise against allergic persons from wind-pollinated plants. Alternatively, one should bet on green, which spreads its pollen using insects. This also applies to people who have contact or fragrance allergies.
- For example, Rottleb recommends that instead of birch and hazelnut it is better to plant hawthorn or cornelian cherry.
- And instead of a geranium about to use a blood cranesbill or the wild mallow for the balcony box.
Especially with hay fever Nabu expert Rottleb advises to put even more plants in the garden. Because deciduous trees and shrubs can have a big effect - planted as a boundary around the plot, you can thus oppose something windblown in the neighborhood.
If birch seeds fly through the air, they catch themselves in the leaves of the trees. The next rain then washes them into the ground - and the allergy trigger is banned. Well suited as a pollen catcher, according to Nabu expert also field maple or linden.
Of course, who knows that he is allergic to a particular plant species, should not put this in his garden. It is important that you should also renounce related species that can trigger cross-reactions. For example, people with a birch allergy should not plant hazelnuts.
How else can pollen allergy sufferers protect themselves?
To reduce the pollutant load, it is recommended to change clothes when entering the apartment. It is also advisable to rinse your hair with water before going to bed. In the countryside, pollen levels are strongest in the early hours of the morning, but in the city the maximum is reached only in the evening: it is recommended not to ventilate the bedroom during this heavy load.
Which medications help with hay fever?
For acute symptoms so-called antihistamines are used. It is available as a nasal spray or eye drops as well as tablets and drops in the pharmacy. In more severe cases, the doctor may prescribe cortisone medications.
The so-called hyposensitization is so far the only way to treat the cause of an allergy. In this case, the allergen in question is given in increasing dose to get the body used to it. Up to 70 percent of patients are often permanently or symptom-free for a longer period. In addition, the therapy can help prevent the dreaded change of levels, in which an allergy develops into allergic asthma.